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Swinney slated as he claims ‘doing well’ in May election will be mandate for indyref2
Scottish Daily Express
|January 19, 2026
Mr Swinney has previously said the SNP need a majority to get an indyref2
JOHN SWINNEY has been accused of shifting his strategy on breaking up Britain after he suggested that simply “doing really well” would give the SNP a mandate for indyref2.
The First Minister put his political future on the line at the SNP conference last year by announcing that a Holyrood majority was his only route to another vote on the constitution.
A single-party majority has only been achieved once in Holyrood’s history, and previous Nat leaders have argued that a pro-independence majority was enough to give them a mandate to demand a second vote.
Speaking on Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips on Sky News today, Mr Swinney confirmed that he would take an SNP majority “as a green light to demand another referendum on independence”.
This story is from the January 19, 2026 edition of Scottish Daily Express.
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